She reached into the neck of her shirt and pulled out a silver pendant of delicate spirals wrapped around a large, white pearl. It was a lovely piece of work. She’d had it made especially for the spirit she kept inside, before she caught him, which wasn’t the normal order of things, but Eril had been worth it. The number of Spiritualists who kept wind spirits could be counted on one hand. Wind spirits were almost impossible to catch, and nearly as impossible to control if you did catch one. That was why she’d chosen a pendant to house him. It kept him close. A Spiritualist never forced her spirits to serve, but some spirits required more supervision than others.
“Eril,” she said, holding the pendant out. “I need you.”
At first, nothing happened. Miranda stood stone still, eyes on the pendant, until a soft breeze tangled the wispy hair around her ears. “You called?”
Miranda grimaced inwardly. Talking to a wind spirit was uncomfortably like talking to thin air. Eril, of course, took full advantage of this.
“I need you to keep an eye on the castle and all surrounding land for the next few days,” she said, careful to keep her face in the determined but slightly bored expression that worked best with flighty spirits. “You’re watching for a white flag from the second tower. The moment it flies, you’ll be looking for a bird, likely a falcon, but it could be anything, with a note in its claws. I’ll want to know where it came from, where it goes once the note is delivered, plus anything else of interest you might see.”
“Bird watching?” Eril said and sighed dramatically, blowing Miranda’s hair into her eyes. “That sounds so boring. Can’t I do something else?”
“No,” Miranda said firmly. “Don’t forget to keep an eye on all the surrounding territory—the city, the countryside, and the forest to the north where the king keeps his deer. I’ll want reports on everything.”
“All right, all right, I heard you the first time,” he huffed. “Never get to have any fun,” Miranda heard him mutter as the wind began to die down.
Miranda stayed frozen even after the air was still, a scowl etched on her face.
“He’s gone,” Gin said.
“Good,” Miranda said, giving herself a little shake. “He likes to hang around sometimes, just to see what I say about him. Gives me the jeebies.”
The hound snorted sympathetically. “How did you catch him in the first place if you couldn’t see him?”
“I used smoke,” Miranda said, untying Gin’s pack and dropping it on the ground. “But even when I could see, it took me a solid month before I managed to catch hold of a wind spirit long enough to convince him to join me.”
Gin shook his massive head. “I will never understand how you humans manage to get through your short lives being spirit blind. That’s probably why the Powers gave your kind the ability to command spirits. It’s a survival mechanism.”
“We get by well enough.” Miranda pushed aside the thick branches for a better look at the castle. “It might have been a little much, sending him so early. The riders won’t even reach the Council city until late tomorrow, and that’s if they ride through the night. Then there’s the wait while the bounty is approved.”
“So what?” Gin flopped down on the thick carpet of pine needles. “I could use a break.”
“Lazy mutt.” Miranda grinned. Still, he was right. Ever since they’d gotten Coriano’s tip that Eli was in Mellinor, they’d been constantly on the move. She hadn’t had more than three hours of sleep in one stretch since she’d left the Spirit Court.
“All right,” she said, slumping down next to him, “you win. But since you got to sleep while I was searching the castle, you get first watch.”
Gin snorted, sending pine straw everywhere, but he moved to the edge of the clearing where he could lounge and watch the road at the same time. When he was settled, Miranda lay back, looking up at the deep blue sky through the tree tops. Eventually, they’d need to find a better hiding place, but this would do for now. Anyway, the sun was warm here. She closed her eyes. When Eli made his move, they would be ready. The thought made her smile, and with that, she fell asleep.
CHAPTER 10
Josef glared at his opponent, watching for an opening. The smallest twitch could show the weakness that would turn his defeat into victory. A few feet away, Eli lounged in the sunlight, leaning against the branches that hid their tumbledown stone shack and grinning like an idiot.
The thief’s eyes flicked down, and Josef saw his opening. “Match and raise,” he growled, tossing two gold standards on the grass in front of him.